“AI does make [up] the bulk of our order book that we’ve talked about,” DeWitte said in an interview. That includes clients in the chip sector as well as data centers, he added. Publicly, the company has said it’s working with hyperscalers Equinix and Prometheus Hyperscale. It has yet to disclose any deals with Big Tech firms.

But Wall Street analysts caution that the company and its competitors face regulatory and supply chain hurdles before they can produce anywhere near the amount of power needed to run artificial intelligence data centers.

Nuclear projects have been subject to stringent regulations in response to high-profile global nuclear meltdowns at Three Mile Island in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986, and Fukushima in 2011. On average, it takes the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission 80 months to approve nuclear plant construction in the US, compared to an average of 54 months in the UK, according to research cited by Canaccord Genuity.

While a number of companies are developing SMRs — including Bill Gates’ TerraPower — none have been deployed in the US to date, and long licensing processes mean profitability isn’t exactly on the horizon.

In Oklo’s first earnings report since going public on Aug. 13, the company reported a net loss of about $53 million for the first six months of the year, wider than the roughly $9 million loss it posted in the year-earlier period.

Fuel is also an issue for companies in the space: Many SMRs, such as those of Oklo, NuScale, and TerraPower, require a specific type called high-assay low-enriched uranium, also known as HALEU, which is imported from Russia. There’s little to no domestic supply since the West at large has avoided developing a HALEU supply chain. That’s because enriched uranium is used in nuclear weapons, according to Canaccord Genuity.

“A developed Western HALEU supply chain is absent, particularly given efforts to limit enrichment due to concerns over proliferation,” wrote Canaccord Genuity analyst George Gianarikas in a note to investors early this year.

Citing supply constraints and long and difficult licensing processes, Citi’s Vikram Bagri recently reduced his price target on Oklo stock from $11 to $10.

“There are too many ‘ifs’ in this process,” Bagri said. “The new technology and new nuclear installs, it seems like, will happen only after 2030. After 2030, it remains to be seen who gets successful and how successful they get, how many nuclear reactors we see.”

But Seaport analyst Jeffrey Campbell sees Oklo having advantages in the burgeoning market, pointing to its ability to use “much cheaper” recycled fuel.

Whereas a traditional nuclear plant can take billions of dollars to build, Oklo has said the cost of bringing one of its SMRs online is a few hundred million dollars.

For his part, DeWitte is optimistic about the future of the market — and Oklo’s place in it. DeWitte cited mounting bipartisan support to reduce regulatory hurdles and enhance the domestic supply of HALEU. He said Oklo is unique because the company is looking to own and operate its facilities and sell energy directly to customers, rather than the traditional model of licensing its technology to utilities. DeWitte believes this will enable the company to bring its reactors online faster.

“In the world today, where this opportunity is so massive — diverse customers that need different things, want different things … you’re going to see a diverse ecosystem evolve,” he said. He added, “You’re not going to see one winner take all.”

Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @LauraBratton5.

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Wall Street anticipates this strategic advantage will fuel TeraWulf’s growth, projecting revenue to increase 214% through 2025 as the company expands from Bitcoin mining into AI computing services. The timing appears ideal, as demand for sustainable data center capacity continues to outpace available supply.

TeraWulf’s core bitcoin mining business faces significant challenges, as evidenced by the April 2024 reward halving, which significantly impacted miners’ profitability. This vulnerability to cryptocurrency market dynamics highlights why the company is diversifying into AI infrastructure.

While promising, the pivot to AI computing comes with its own risks. TeraWulf must prove it can convert its Bitcoin mining expertise into successful partnerships with major tech companies. The company’s ability to operate reliable, high-performance data centers at scale is also a work in progress.

The case for buying TeraWulf largely rests on whether you believe the company can successfully transform its zero-carbon Bitcoin mining operations into a thriving AI infrastructure business. While the company has removed key investment risks by eliminating debt and raising substantial capital, it remains early in this transition.

For investors convinced that AI’s growing energy needs will drive demand for sustainable data centers, TeraWulf could offer a significant upside at current prices. However, given the execution risks in this transformation, any position should be sized as a speculative portion of a diversified portfolio.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. George Budwell has positions in Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Bitcoin, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why This Green Bitcoin Miner Could Be the Next Big AI Infrastructure Stock was originally published by The Motley Fool

The ETF primarily holds U.S. government-backed debt, like treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (nearly 70% of its holdings). Its remaining holdings are from industrial, financial, and utility issuers. The fund currently holds over 12,000 bonds.

Given the lower risk profile of its issuers, the fund has a lower yield. Over the trailing 12 months, its yield has averaged 3.6%. The yield has trended higher in recent months (4.3% yield last month) as lower-yielding bonds mature, and the fund adds in higher-yielding bonds thanks to the currently higher interest rate environment.

While the income payments will vary from month to month, this ETF should generate a relatively steady fixed-income stream thanks to the low-risk profile of the bonds it holds.

I like to use ETFs to add different sources of passive income to my portfolio to increase the overall diversification of my income. This trio of ETFs provides income from options, junk bonds, and investment-grade bonds. That helps increase my income and reduce my risk. I plan to continue loading up on these and other dividend ETFs in the future to help me steadily march toward my goal of financial freedom through passive income.

Before you buy stock in JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF, consider this:

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Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

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Matt DiLallo has positions in JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF, SPDR Series Trust-SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF, and iShares Trust-iShares Core U.s. Aggregate Bond ETF. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why I’m Loading Up on These 3 High-Dividend ETFs for Passive Income was originally published by The Motley Fool

Moreover, the price action in the stock throughout 2024 may suggest that it’s a little overbought. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which upside from the potential approval of VK2735 isn’t baked into Viking shares to some degree.

While I think the company could be a disruptive player in the weight loss arena, Viking’s full potential is likely still years away. In the interim, I expect that Novo Nordisk will keep chugging along and remain a leader in diabetes treatment and chronic weight management.

Even if Viking does receive approval for its obesity candidate, there will be plenty of time to invest in the stock along the way as the company scales up.

To me, owning Viking shares requires a deep understanding of high-risk, high-opportunity stocks. I think most investors would be better off owning an established business such as Novo Nordisk, instead of a clinical-stage company like Viking Therapeutics.

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Could Buying This Weight Loss Stock Be Like Investing in Novo Nordisk At The Dawn of The GLP-1 Revolution? was originally published by The Motley Fool

SoFi’s banking business is steadily growing, but what excites me is the potential of its technology platform. In recent years, the company has made substantial investments in Galileo and Technisys to develop a robust technology infrastructure aimed at bringing banking services to nonbank companies.

Galileo serves as the backend infrastructure for fintech companies without banking charters, enabling them to handle payments and offer various banking services through SoFi.

Meanwhile, Technisys replaces outdated legacy systems, which hindered rapid innovation, and it can simultaneously support multiple products, run in the cloud, and allow banks to process and analyze data in real time. With this powerful technology stack, SoFi aspires to become the “Amazon Web Services (AWS) of fintech.”

SoFi’s technology platform has evolved into a significant business and can provide stability thanks to long-term contracts. In the first half of this year, the technology platform generated net revenue of $190 million, marking a 15% increase from the previous year, and boasted a robust contribution profit margin of 33%.

On Oct. 14, SoFi announced a $2 billion loan platform business agreement for personal loans with funds managed by Fortress Investment Group. Noto said in a press release that the agreement will help it “diversify toward less capital-intensive and more fee-based sources of revenue.” The agreement shows investors’ risk appetite for SoFi’s loans may be returning after skepticism over the abovementioned rising charge-offs.

SoFi has done an excellent job growing its banking presence and increasing its deposit base rapidly over the past few years, and its earnings continue to improve as it pulls on multiple growth levers across its business. The company has done an excellent job of adding customers and improving the economics of its business over the past several years. This is why I think the stock is a solid buy for long-term investors today.

Before you buy stock in SoFi Technologies, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SoFi Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $867,372!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of October 21, 2024

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Courtney Carlsen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Is SoFi Stock a Buy? was originally published by The Motley Fool